Railway-fusee.



W. C. BECKWITH.

RAILWAY FUSEE.

APPLICATION FILED mm: 3. 1915.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

/NVENTUF( WALTER C. BECKWITH, OF FOSTORIA, OHIO.

RAILWAY-FUSEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

Application filed June 3, 1915. Serial No. 31,929.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER C. BECKWITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Fostoria, in the county of Seneca use the same, reference being .had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to railway signal devices, and particularly to that type of devices known as fusees.

In the manufacture of railway fusees it is customary to fill the fusee tubes to a desired depth with an inflammable body compound and to cap or cover the outer end of such compound in each tube with an inflammable igniting compound of a harder nature than the body compound to adapt it to withstand the hard usage to which ,the exposed end of the compound may be subjected in use. This hard capping compound is commonly known as a hard-head. These hard heads frequently become broken ofl from the fusee due to the fusee striking on the igniting or hard-head end thereof when dropped or thrown from ,a train, thereby rendering a fusee useless as a signal.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of means in connection with fusees of the character described which will serve to retain the hard-head on the fusee end if such hard-headds used, and will also prevent the body compound from running from the end of the fusee, thus enabling the customary hard-head to be eliminated if desired.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, and while, in its broader aspect, it is capable of embodiment in numerous forms, a preferred embodiment thereof is'illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,-

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of the fusee embodying my invention taken on the line m, w in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an enlargedcross-section thereof taken on the line 3 y in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective v 1ew of the scratch button used in connect1on with the fusee, and Fig. 4 is an end portion of the fusee'with the body compound extending out through the cellular end portion of the tube.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a fusee tube, one end of which is closed by a plug 2, which is set a sufficient distance in the tube to provide a socket in the end ofthe tube without the plug in which a scratch button 3 may be inserted. The plug 2 is of spool form, that is provided with circumferential end flanges 4, to form an intermediate recess 5 entirely around the plug. The purpose of the recess 5 is to receive glue or other suitable adhesive agent, the groove being of suflicient depth to prevent the glue from having contact with the inner surface of the tube when being forced into position therein. When the plug is permitted to stand in one position after being forced into the tube, the glue which is in a liquid or semi-liquid state flows by gravity to the lowest portion ofthe groove and'into contact with the tube at such point whereby to firmly secure the plug to the tube. A spike 6 is carried by the plug 2 axially thereof and has its pointed end projecting from the plug and a desired distance beyond the end of the tube. The purpose of this spike is well understood in the art.

The scratch button 3 has its inner surface provided with a chemical scratch compound 7, which when moved into frictional contact with the scratch surface at the ignition end of a fusee causes an ignition thereof. The scratch button 3 has its outer end preferably flanged, as at 8, to limit the insertion thereof into the tube end. In order-that the scratch chemical 7 of the button may not have frictional contact with the outer end of the plug 2, such end is concaved, as shown at 9. The button 3 has an axial opening 10 therethrough for receiving the spike 6 of the fusee when the button is inserted into the carrying end of the fusee tube.

The inflammable body compound of the fusee is indicated at 11 and if the fusee is of the multiple color type the different colors may be placed in succeeding sections as shown. This compound may be of any suitable form and ingredients. The body compound terminates short of the outer ignition and of the fusee tube to provide an open board, celluloidor other suitable material,

which is preferably of an inflammable nature..

If the fusee is to be provided with a hardhead, the compound 13 forming the hardhead material is poured, or otherwise suitably disposed within the cellular end space or socket in the tube and extends from the body compound with which it preferably has intimate contact, to the outer end of the tube where it may itself, if of a suitable nature, form a scratching surface, or be provided with a scratching surface or coating with which the scratch button 3 may be moved in frictional engagement to ignite the fusee. It is not necessary, however, to use a hard-head with my improved fusee as the body compound may be continued out through the cellular end portion of the tube, as shown in Fig. 4, and provided at its outer end with a scratching surface 14.

The interengaging either of the body compound 11 or the hard-head compound 13 with the partitions 12 causes a very firm and rigid attaching of such compounds to the tube and prevents both the hard-head from becoming broken off and the body compound from running out of the tube end and carrying the fire with it. Should the fusee when thrown strike on the ignition end thereof and loosen the body compound so that it might run from one of the cells formed by the partitions 12 and the tube wall, the compound in some of the cells would remain firm and intact so that the burning would continue. In case a hard-head is used in connection with the torpedo the cellular form of the tube end prevents a removal of the hardhead from the tube without mutilating the tube, and also prevents the hard-head from becoming broken off should it strike against some hard article either during handling or when thrown or dropped from a train. It is evident that the partitions 12 need not extend throughout the entire depth of the hardhead, or of the end socket in which the hardhead is disposed, but may terminate short of the body compound 11 if desired, or have the body compound extending a greater or less distance therein. It will also be understood that while only one form of the partitions 12 is illustrated such partitions may be of any desired shape, size or material and arranged to form any desired number of cells without departing from the spirit of the invention. The ignition end of the fusee may be protected by a cap, a water-proof wrapping, or in any other suitable manner as desired, as is well understood in the art.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specific construction, arrangement or form of the parts, as it is capable of numerous modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. In a fusee of the class described, a tube having a closed end, a plurality of crossed strips of a sheet-like material inserted into the open end of said tube and forming a plurality of cells, and an inflammable compound filling said tube and cells and being exposed at the open end of the tube.

2. In a fusee of the class described, a tube having a closed end, a plurality of crossed strips. of pasteboard, celluloid or the like inserted into the open end portion of the tube in contact at their outer edges with the tube wall, said strips cooperating to form a plurality of cells and an inflammable compound disposed in said tube and extending out through said cells and filling the same substantially as described.

3. In a fusee of the class described, a tube having a closed end, an inflammable compound filling said tube and exposed at the 'open end thereof, and a member embedded in the compound at the open end of the tube and having .a plurality of passages lengthwise therethrough and containing said compound, said member being of a material and nature to adapt it to burn down as rapidly as the compound in the tube.

4. In a fusee of the class described, a tube having a closed end, an inflammable compound filling said' tube and exposed at the open end thereof, a member embedded in the compound at the open end of the tube, said member having a plurality of spaced sheetlike partitions of inflammable material which cooperate to form a plurality of passages entirely through the member lengthwise thereof and containing said compound.

5. In a fusee of the class described, a tube having a closed end, an inflammable compound filling said tube and exposed at the open end thereof, and a plurality of sheetlike parts of inflammable material arranged in angular relation and embedded in the compound at the openend of said tube and cooperating with each other and with the tube wall to form a plurality of passages lengthwise through the open end portion of the tube, said passages containing the compound with which the tube is filled.

6. In a fusee of the class described, a tube having a closed end, an inflammable compound filling said tube and exposed at the open end thereof, and a partition member embedded in the compound at the open end of said tube and having its partitions formed of inflammable sheet-like material disposed lengthwise thereof and arranged in angular relation to each other wherebyto form passages lengthwise through the member for receiving said compound.

7 In -a fusee of the class described, a tube, a plug closing an end of said tube and being I 10 jecting longitudinally therefrom outwardly through said socket and beyond the end of the tube, and a scratch button removably inserted in said socket and having an opening therethrough for receiving said spike, the spike being of sufiicient length to reject beyond the scratch button when the utton is inserted in said socket.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to this s ecification.

' WALTER BEGKWITH. 

